Smoking in public places: Rs 7.97 crore fine collected

Tamil Nadu : The Public Health Department informed that a fine of Rs 7.97 crore has been collected from 4.60 lakh people involved in violations such as smoking in public places and selling tobacco products to minors. Similarly, it said that yellow lines are being drawn on roads near schools and colleges to indicate that tobacco is prohibited. In this regard, Selvavinayagam, Director, Public Health Department, said: On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, various steps are being taken to create a smoke-free Tamil Nadu. Currently, tobacco products are being marketed by targeting children and adolescents. To prevent them, awareness is being created among students in schools and colleges. Accordingly, yellow lines are drawn on the road to indicate tobacco-free zones within 100 metres of educational institutions. 89 per cent schools and 87 per cent colleges have been declared tobacco-free educational campuses. If children get addicted to tobacco at a young age, they are more likely to develop other bad habits and even suffer from oral cancer. Keeping this in mind, the anti-tobacco campaign has been intensified. In Tamil Nadu, people involved in activities like selling tobacco products to minors and smoking in public places are fined from Rs 200 to Rs 5,000. Accordingly, a fine of Rs 7.97 crore has been collected from 4.60 lakh people in the last 10 years. In the coming days, we are considering to intensify this action further. Accordingly, there is a possibility of registering a criminal case against those who repeatedly do wrong and giving a jail sentence of one to five years.